


A letter

by Jyoux3



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Blood, Death, M/M, Other, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-25 03:28:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9800780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jyoux3/pseuds/Jyoux3
Summary: A journey nobody expected they would go through.The dead are alive, and the living are dead.With one goal in mind, to reach the destination, they will do anything.Will their bond overcome reality?⟴ Zombie au. Ot9. So far 10 chapters are confirmed, one for each member.⟴ Warning: Blood, Gore, Death, Eating disorder, Panic attack, Mental instability, Insomnia, Paranoia.Written by two people. Will contain no romance, just fluff.





	1. Just an excuse

 

_Hello. If you are reading this, we were too late. I really thought we could make it in time. I’m sorry._

_It all started with a letter that I’ve received. At first I thought it was a hoax._  
_What kind of crazy fan would send such a letter? And how the hell would they even have our address?_  
_Until I saw the news, I couldn’t make the connection. The moment I realized what was really happening, I couldn’t even remember that I was hungry after the practice._  
_We had to pack quickly. We didn’t know how long we had. At that moment I regretted going to the gym this morning. Who knew these ol’ pair of legs would have to carry me all the way to China?!_  
_Anyway…I didn’t want them to panic, so I had to make up an excuse. How am I supposed to make eight grumpy brats believe me that we have to WALK to China?_  
_I mean if I were them…I wouldn’t believe me either. Even Jongdae didn’t notice the underlying terror in my voice. Maybe the fact that we were all so tired from the practice was actually a good thing._  
_I gave Jongdae, Sehun and Chanyeol cameras that I had grabbed from the office right after the practice. I told everyone that we were going to participate in a special show where we document our lives in the journey to China. We all packed pretty quickly, except Junmyeon, who had a terrible debate between a blue jacket with black lines and a grey jacket with green stripes. We basically emptied all of our cabinets, taking all the canned food we could find. Some corn cans were there from the date we’ve moved in. Yuck…_  
_In the minibus we took from the company we drove north. I had everything planned in my head. We would get to the border, and then continue west along the shore. It was pretty late, so luckily the ride was quiet. It was peaceful. It seems the world was still okay._  
_Seeing the members taking pictures together and filming each other with the cameras, fooling around, almost made me forget that it was actually just an excuse. Surprisingly Junmyeon was the one creating the mood. He decided that all of us should sing road songs, like ‘the wheels on the bus’, and other songs that are definitely meant for children._  
_I’m thankful. It was working…for a while. But Baekhyun and Chanyeol became restless once their stomachs began growling. I think throughout the ride to the border of North Korea we stopped like twice. The closer we got to the border, the more suspicious the members grew of me. Well, not exactly me, just that excuse. Even in my opinion, we passed unexpectedly easily until the very passage of the border. I told them to wait in the vehicle and that I would take care of all legal passing issues. It was creepily silent in the office, except for one guy I saw sitting in another room._  
_We passed. The cameras were all glued to the windows. None of us have ever seen North Korea before, but even for a complete foreigner it would be odd to see the streets THIS empty._  
_The further north we drove, the grimmer our collective mood became. Everything around us was vacant.. Shops, markets, even what looked like a gathering centre for the locals. It looked like everyone just vanished into thin air._  
_It was eerie, and made us uncomfortable. I could feel Jongdae and Junmyeon giving me questioning looks. I felt responsible, but how am I supposed to explain this? How am I supposed to tell them that we’ll be lucky if we ever see another person at all?_


	2. Baekhyun

The minibus was running low and so were we. Minseok suggested we should stop at a gas station to fuel up the vehicle and our stomachs. Which is a great idea, because I’m freaking starving!  
We’ve been driving for hours, my bum hurts!  
“Umin-hyung, I’ll join you.” I say while already unbuckling myself. I really need a breather.  
“No, it’s okay. I’ll go alone, just tell me what you want to have.”  
That’s surprising, why would Minseok want to go alone, he usually hates talking to strangers. Knowing I can’t argue against him, I settle with a pouty shrug.  
Yixing, who was sitting next to me, was deeply asleep. So I chose a snack and a drink for him, shrimp flavored chips and some cola, same as myself. I’m sure he would like it.

Minseok left the bus, and for a while it was silent.  
“Guys, have any of you heard about this special show? I tried to search it online, but there’s no service.” Chanyeol said.  
“Yeah, Minseok hasn’t said a word to me about it. I don’t know what he’s thinking.” Jongdae agreed.  
“I’m not getting any interesting footage, everything is empty. Is it a holiday or something?” Chanyeol added.  
“Doesn’t look like it.” Kyungsoo shrugged.  
Sehun who was busy fiddling on his phone most of the ride, averted his eyes to us. “Just trust Minseok-hyung.” Before placing the phone in his pocket and resting his head backwards on the seat.  
We fell silent, all agreeing. In the end we all came here, didn’t we?

“Jongdae, could you please pass me a tissue?” Kyungsoo broke the silence. Jongdae reached to the bus cabinet, since he’s sitting at the front, but he hesitated before bringing the tissue to Kyungsoo. He was holding a weird piece of paper that had some Chinese letters written on it. Just as he was about to unfold the mysterious paper, everyone’s attention turned to Minseok rushing into the bus and slamming the door after him. He was breathing pretty heavily.  
“Umin-hyung, what happened?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.  
“We have to go. Now.”  
“Why, what happened?” Jongdae replied with worry.  
“WE HAVE TO GO!”  
I’ve never heard Minseok’s voice going this loud. Nor have I ever seen his expression looking this terrified. We all froze. Nobody knew what was going on.  
“Minseok, what’s going on? You haven’t even told me why we’re here. ” Jongdae’s face gave away that he was actually hurt from not receiving answers. But before Minseok was even able to take a breath, Junmyeon started freaking out and poking the window towards the shop’s direction. “Are they hurt? They look weird.” his voice had a slight tone of fear.  
I was looking at Jongdae, but from the corner of my eye I could see Kyungsoo’s eyes widening. Turning my head, I unfortunately came to realize that these four men that were approaching the bus were most likely more than hurt.  
One of them had his leg twisted backwards, and a big chunk of skin hanging from the stomach. It looked like all the blood from his body was drained, and all that’s left was black goo dripping from the corners of his mouth. Next to him came another man, who seemed to have it even worse, half of his face was curved into his head and the eye was popping out, hanging on the single string of nerves connecting it to the rest of the head.  
That was all I managed to see, it was more than what I wanted to see, honestly…  
Jongdae pressed on the gas so roughly, that Jongin’s head almost bashed to the back of the seat. Good thing Junmyeon’s instincts are sharp, he managed to grab onto Jongin before the hit.

Jongdae was driving restlessly, the car was shaking and all of us were swinging from side to side. Chanyeol grunted at the back, having to hold onto the heavy luggage to make sure nothing falls apart. Yixing and Jongin were wide awake by now. Their faces were swollen but their eyes open so wide.  
“Jongdae, slow down!” Kyungsoo shouted at him. But in his panic, he could barely control the wheel, making us run over a pile of metal scraps located on the side of the road. He finally came to his senses and placed us back in the lane, but we could hear the air blowing out of the tire.  
“Shit!” Jongdae shouted, smacking his hand on the wheel. He was angry, but not at us - at himself. It looked like he felt guilty for popping the tire. Minseok’s hand reached out to his shoulder. “It’s alright.”

We drove for about an hour before the tire emptied out. Junmyeon said that we would have to find a place to stay and sort our plans. The staff will be here soon anyway, right? Minseok said that the staff were following us right behind, so they should be here soon, it’s alright.  
We ended up in a village, it looked pretty empty, again. Like everything else we’ve seen so far. My feet felt numb on the ground. How many hours has it been since I walked?  
Everyone helped getting the luggage out of the bus. We brought it inside an empty wooden cabin that had a few chairs and a table in it. Thankfully it was still day time, I can’t imagine how scary it would be at night! We all checked our cells for service, but as expected, there was none for any of us.

Junmyeon was the first to speak. “Minseok, could you explain to us what is happening? Who were those people?” His voice sounded soft, we all knew that Minseok must still be shaken from the encounter with.. I don’t even know what they were.  
Minseok’s eyes were darting, and Jongdae who seemed to be worried before, now just looks remorseful. “I got a message from China. I thought it was a prank at first, but when I saw the news, I knew I had to do this.” Minseok said quietly, taking a folded map out of his pocket. “There was some virus breakout in eastern Russia, it spread through China and North Korea… The people who chased me before, they.. weren’t people anymore. We have to get to Dalian. There should be a military base that would keep us safe from the virus. The message said it was only for us, I couldn’t tell the staff either.. they aren’t really following us, they don’t know we’re here.”  
As surprised as I was, it looked like Junmyeon’s eyes were going to pop out of his head. Jongin’s expression was also pretty shocked. “Hyung, stop joking with us.” Sehun suddenly said with a confused smile. Minseok didn’t say anything, just looked down at the dusty wooden table. Sehun’s smile slowly died down. So.. this isn’t a joke.  
“Hyung, why didn’t you tell us this at first?!” Jongin shouted. His expression was angry, but voice shaking. “I could’ve have told my parents, I could’ve told my family, I could’ve told-..”  
“I’m sorry.” Minseok replied with regret.  
Chanyeol stormed forward, slamming his hand onto the wooden table, making the dust fly up in the air. “We could’ve prepared better, we could’ve brought supplies, we could’ve done something! All we have now are those old corn cans and these stupid cameras!” he said raising his arm as if to throw the camera down to the floor, but a glance towards Kyungsoo made him stop mid movement. Chanyeol’s arms lowered back down, and I could see his hands curling into fists. The atmosphere was horrible. I have to do something about this, I can’t just let them be so angry.

“Guys, guys! It’s alright, we have these corn cans and each other. And-.. and we could document our survival with the cameras, you know, like those horror movies!” I called out with the best smile I could manage, but the only gaze I could meet was of Yixing. He nodded at me, slowly, but it didn’t look like he really agreed. I don’t know if I myself agree to that…  
Chanyeol then tossed the camera to the table and took out his phone, with a serious tone he announced. “Whatever.. I’m going to find some service.” Before stomping out of the wooden cabin, Sehun following after him. “I’ll-… try to help.”

I began thinking about my mom. Ah… How I wish I was back at home right now. Did Mongryong have his meal yet? Did the virus spread to the mountains near my grandmother’s house? Are my father and brother okay? I could feel myself sinking down in the thoughts of home. I thought about school, our trainee days, our debut, our career together, is this all going to end? Will something of what we’ve achieved be remembered? No, I cannot continue thinking this way. We will do this. We will survive. We will get there. We will be okay.

I went over to Minseok, he looked like all life evaporated out of him. “Hey, we’re all fine, right? So you did well.” I wrapped my arm around his shoulder with a reassuring smile. Jongdae decided to step closer, he held onto Minseok’s hand and looked into his eyes. “It’s okay hyung, I know you’re just trying to help us all. But still.. next time, tell me.” He cracked a little smile himself. Minseok’s tensed body loosened up a little, and he let out a sigh.

We stayed inside all day, Kyungsoo and Junmyeon did a count of all the food and supplies that we have. Yixing tried to reassure us all that we will be able to find a lot of edible berries and other plants once we get closer to China. Slowly everyone calmed down. When it started to get dark, Chanyeol and Sehun came back. As expected, they couldn’t find any service on their cells. Our batteries were running low. Jongdae gathered everyone together, and we had to think of a plan. I took the map and spread it in the middle. Minseok already marked a few spots on there. The only problem was that we had no idea where we were. But according to the amount of hours we drove, we were probably somewhere around Pyongyang. Everyone were discussing the plan together, deciding that staying close to the shore and continuing north would be the quickest and safest option.

“So that means we all have to share one can a day.” Junmyeon said. “What? There’s no way we’re gonna have enough energy with only that.” Jongin protested.  
“Shut up.” Kyungsoo suddenly cut us in the middle of the discussion. All eyes turned to him, and he quietly put his finger on his lips. “I heard a noise outside.” He whispered to us with a serious face. Sehun quickly turned off the flashlight and we sat in the dark. Chanyeol and Jongdae both stood up carefully and looked outside the windows. Jongdae came back to sit with us, but Chanyeol stayed by the window. “There’s one of them walking on the main road.” He explained. After tense couple of minutes, he came back and sat with us, nodding to Sehun that it’s safe to turn the light back on.

Yixing and Minseok insisted to be on watch that night. Jongin offered that if they needed help, he would take a part. Sleeping on the wooden floor wasn’t exactly comfortable, but at least we were all together.  
According to the plan, today we were supposed to walk until we reach a place called Sukchon, and also gather supplies wherever we can. The strategy was to stay away from any big cities, to avoid having any dangerous encounters.  
The first thing we did when we woke up, was scavenge everything we can from the village we were currently at. Which means, food, water, ropes, matches, medical supplies, and a few knives. We gathered a pretty decent haul, and spread the burden of carrying everything between the members equally. Jongdae thought that it would be best to leave the cameras behind, but Chanyeol insisted on keeping them to really document our journey.

And so our journey began.

After a few hours of walking without a single break, I could feel my back starting to ache. “Ugh… Guys! My back is killing me!” I called out to them while falling behind.  
“Shh!” Kyungsoo turned to me with a finger on his lips again, shushing me for the third time today. “Oh right..”  
The breaks felt like heaven, I could stretch my arms and legs. I could take the huge bag off my back. We all settled down and ate, each of us had a few bites from the corn can, except for Yixing who insisted that he wasn’t hungry and gave his portion to Sehun instead.  
While walking I kept my eyes on Chanyeol and Sehun, who were both carrying the cameras and filming everything we’re seeing in silence. Normally, I would even suggest to sing a song, but every time I get slightly louder… Ah.. Well it makes sense, we don’t want to be detected.

Finally we reached Sukchon, just on time. It was starting to get darker. We haven’t met a single person, well.. unless one of those things could be called a person. Walking in an empty city like this really gives me the chills, especially when we passed by some glass windows that were the only separation between us and the infected… people? I still haven’t decided how to call them. How will we call them really?

We passed through the small and narrow alleys, trying to get as little attention as we could to ourselves. Minseok and Jongin lead us through the city, until we reached a little separated area that looked safe enough for the night. Sehun and Chanyeol approached a little brick house, and thanks to their height, they could just look through the windows to see if it’s empty or not. While Chanyeol was walking around the house to make sure it’s abandoned, Sehun gave us a thumb up. I could hear everyone sighing in relief.

Upon entering the house, we noticed that the foundation was lacking. There was mold on the ceiling, the windows couldn’t shut completely, and even the doors didn’t feel like they were intact. Well, that would still do. We wouldn’t be able to get into a 5-star hotel any time soon, would we?  
I took the first night watch, which meant I had to be silent for two hours straight until Jongdae would replace me. Honestly, watching all the members sleeping like this, kind of helped me relax, they looked so peaceful, unlike the world outside. It reminded me of our trainee days, where we would stay in the studio for hours, practicing, sweating, working hard together. Even if I had the shortest training period, everyone welcomed me like family. And right now, I felt like they were really my family. My only family. I guess the realization finally sank in. There’s nothing to return to. My home is where they are. I couldn’t be more grateful. If I could choose, I would definitely choose them. I would probably be dead by now if it wasn’t for them. All these years they’ve taken such good care of me, I feel like this is my time to repay. My two hours passed as if they were two minutes. I woke Jongdae up before taking his spot between Minseok and Yixing.

The next morning I felt great! I think sitting down and thinking like that yesterday during my watch really set my mind straight. I have confidence in us, you know? I trust them. I trust them more than I trust myself. We can definitely make this through. I will do my best, I promise! Even if I don’t say it out loud…  
After a light stretch, everyone got on their feet. Sehun and Chanyeol decided that today only Chanyeol would be the one filming. We gathered around Minseok, who was showing us exactly where we were heading on the map. “Oh, so we are heading to Sinanju.” I said. “That’s nice. It’s next to a river, maybe we could wash ourselves or something.”  
Minseok smiled. “That’s the plan.”  
We nodded to each other and I went to the door. Holding my hand on the handle, I turned my head to Junmyeon. “How come we haven’t washed ourselves until now, isn’t your power water, hyung?” I said teasingly.

I could see Junmyeon giggling to himself before hearing a low growl behind the door. Before I was able to turn my head, a pale hand broke through the glass window in the door and grabbed my shoulder. A shiver ran down my spine and I couldn’t control my voice, letting out a shriek and trying to pull away. My heart was racing, my head was pounding and my palms began to get sweaty. I could see everyone looking at me, their eyes were wide with terror. One second felt like an hour. Slowly I could feel my body falling backwards. My ears ringing with scary hissing and groaning. My mind went blank, but I could hear my own voice whispering “Eomma…” before landing on the ground with a thud.  
I could feel a sharp burning pain digging into my skin right above my shoulder. It hurt. It hurt so bad. I squinted my eyes shut and tried to struggle off from their hold. My throat going dry from the terrified screams I had no control over.  
This is the end, isn’t it? Mom, dad, exo… I love you. Don’t miss me too much.

_҉   I will be fine._

I could feel more teeth digging into me. My body wouldn’t even listen anymore. It hurt. It hurt so bad.  
Goodbye.

⟴

 _It was so hard trying to hold Chanyeol and Yixing from running towards Baekhyun. Chanyeol shouted a few times, but was quickly shushed by Kyungsoo, who had tears standing in his eyes. Junmyeon and I… We had to pull everyone away, we had to go. With great force we managed to exit the house, running away as fast as we could. Away from the crowd of the infected. Away from Baekhyun’s blood curdling screams of pain..._  
_We ran. We ran for I don’t know how long. Eventually we came to a cease. Everyone were panting heavily and none of us could think of what we could say to ease down the situation._  
_Kyungsoo started murmuring that it was his fault, because he was the last one to be on watch last night. He couldn’t understand how he didn’t notice the hoard. But Chanyeol was quick to respond. He grabbed him by the shoulders and told him that it wasn’t his fault. Thanks to him, we didn’t die yesterday night, which was true. It took a while, but eventually he calmed down. We were all hurting._  
_We got to Sinanju, but none of us even thought about washing ourselves._

_We love you Baekhyun._

_We are sorry._


	3. Yixing

I probably could have done something. I probably could have pulled him or just-.. pushed these people away. He was in so much pain, my ears are still ringing with the screams. The sight of his body being bitten into is something I haven’t seen in the scariest of horror movies. Is all of this even real? It feels so insane.  
My knees were shaking real bad when we stopped running. Sweat was dripping down from my temples to my chin. Nobody spoke for a whole minute before Kyungsoo broke down. But thanks to Chanyeol he came back to his senses quickly and we moved on. Nobody wanted to speak, nobody wanted to think. I hope that he’s in peace now, even though his screams of pain were still echoing in our ears. I think this echo will remain forever. 

Before we noticed, the sun was setting already. I followed close behind Chanyeol who was still carrying the camera. Thanks to Minseok’s leading, we found a little shed near a park. There were some people walking around. Are they still people? Can we still call them that way? I mean… I think they are. They look like people. They are just.. sick? I’m sure there’s a way to help them. Every sickness has a cure. I wish my powers were real, that way I could have helped solving this problem before it even started. That would save everyone a lot of trouble.  
That would have saved… Baekhyun…

Oh, I think I was lost in thought for a long while, because when my attention turned to my brothers, the door of the shed was already open and everyone were hurrying inside. I should focus. This isn’t the time to day dream. Jongin who entered behind me closed the door after all of us. And after a long moment of silence Chanyeol dropped down on the floor, letting his big backpack off his shoulders and leaning forward, his face in his hands. Everyone else followed but more carefully, making sure we kept the noise to the minimum, except for Kyungsoo who remained standing. His hands clenched into shaking fists. He still thinks it’s his fault.  
I leaned onto my own backpack. Seeing Kyungsoo shaking like this is something I thought I would experience only in his movies. ‘It isn’t your fault’, I wanted to say, but before I opened my mouth, Chanyeol tugged onto Kyungsoo’s trousers and pulled him down to sit as well.

Darkness crept into the shed. Once it was dark enough Junmyeon pulled out the matches and a random thin stick out of his bag, lighting the tip up and placing it in the middle of our sitting circle - shoving it between the cracks of the floor. All of our eyes were focused on the weak smoke coming up from the stick.  
Ah… So this was supposed to be an incense. I didn’t even notice Junmyeon picking up the stick earlier. ‘It’s the most we can do right now, Baekhyun. Please forgive us.‘ I said in my heart, holding my hands together and bowing down to the incense. I could see Sehun’s eyes following me, before he leaned onto Junmyeon’s shoulder to hide his face in it. His own shoulders were trembling slightly.

I don’t know how many hours passed sitting like this in silence. I turned to Jongin, tapping his knee. “We should eat before sleeping.” I think my touch startled him, but he nodded and took a can out of his bag. Each of us were supposed to take a bite and pass it on. That way it would suffice all of us. Jongin had a bite and passed it to Sehun, and it continued clockwise to Junmyeon, Jongdae and Minseok.  
Kyungsoo received the can from Minseok, looking inside it. The strike of guilt in his expression made it clear that he wasn’t planning to eat. He really should though, it’s important to keep the energy. We still have a long way to China, but Kyungsoo passed it to Chanyeol without taking the bite.  
Chanyeol threw him a glance and pushed the can back into his hands. Kyungsoo protested and tried to shove it to him again.  
“Yah!” Chanyeol burst. “Take your bite, Kyungsoo.”  
Kyungsoo turned his head away and averted his eyes to the incense, taking his hands back onto his own lap.  
“I’m not going to say it again.” Chanyeol threatened, attempting to grab Kyungsoo’s hand and force him to hold the can. But Kyungsoo kept pulling his arm away, refusing to listen.  
“Yah!” Chanyeol’s voice sounded really angry this time. He shoved Kyungsoo by the shoulder and slid the can over the floor to him.  
Kyungsoo stood up silently, looking down at the can before walking away and lying down on the floor with his back towards us. Everyone else were quiet, but Chanyeol let out an angry grunt and grabbed the can, taking his bite before passing it to me. I shook my head lightly and gently pushed his hand.  
“It’s alright, I saw you were carrying the camera today. You should eat it.” I said with a small reassuring smile. Chanyeol sighed heavily before shoving the rest of the food into his mouth and chewing aggressively. At the moment he was able to speak, even though his mouth was still full, he declared that he would take the first watch for tonight and got up.

Minseok and Jongdae were the first to lie down to sleep, huddled in the sleeping bags that we found in our path through the cities. Jongin spread his own behind Jongdae and lied down facing the ceiling. Junmyeon placed his sleeping bag next to Jongin and unzipped it, leaving the side open because he knows that he needs to be closer to Sehun tonight. And indeed, I watched how after lying down Sehun just wrapped himself around Junmyeon under their unzipped sleeping bags, which ended up providing them with somewhat of a shared bed.  
Junmyeon looked at me and I knew exactly what he meant. I took my own sleeping bag and placed myself behind Sehun, gently patting his shoulder from above the cover.   
Kyungsoo got up and took his own sleeping bag. Getting back to his corner and settling there. He was so far away from us, this guilt must be killing him inside. I wish I could do something about it, but when Kyungsoo chooses something, he sticks with it until the end.

It was silent, except for the sound of the wind and-- what is this noise..? I turned my head to the right and saw Jongin’s arm covering his eyes. But with a slight shine from the moon, I could see some wetness near his cheeks and his chest going up and down. I wanted to get up and go to him, but it seems like Junmyeon noticed it as well. He turned to lie on his back and looked towards Jongin.  
The little rustling noise of Junmyeon’s sleeping bag was enough to get Jongin’s attention. He removed the arm from his face and looked at Junmyeon, tears streaming down from the corners of his eyes. He mumbled a silent “Hyung…” before holding onto the arm that Junmyeon reached out to him and pulling himself closer. Junmyeon gently stroked his hair until the both of them were calm enough to sleep again.

I decided it was time for me to sleep as well. Hearing everybody’s calm breathing made me think of our old dorm when we were still trainees. There were so many of us in the little room. We really are a family now. We are the only family each of us has. Thinking about our old trainee days, I slowly started drifting into sleep before a sudden stuttered breath brought me back from the snooze. It was Kyungsoo. I could recognize it. I couldn’t see his face, but I imagined his expression was heartbreakingly pained.

Another rustling noise and a few steps made me open my eyes to find Chanyeol standing near Kyungsoo’s sleeping bag. I saw him kneel down and touch the cover. The sleeping bag rattled in surprise and Kyungsoo’s head popped out and turned towards Chanyeol’s face. His eyes were also wet.  
“Kyungsoo-yah...” Chanyeol whispered as quietly as he could. There was no audible reply, only Kyungsoo pulling the cover back above his head and turning.  
“Kyungsoo-yah, I’m sorry...” Chanyeol repeated, slightly shaking the sleeping bag to make Kyungsoo turn to him again. I could hear Kyungsoo sniff and sigh before sitting up and shrugging Chanyeol’s hand off of him.  
“Kyungsoo-yah…” Chanyeol insisted. I could hear the sadness in his quiet whisper.  
“Stop it. You’re going to wake everyone up.” Kyungsoo replied assertively and gave him a sharp glance.  
“Please stop beating yourself. It wasn’t your fault…” I never knew Chanyeol’s tone could get any softer.  
“Stop it. We all know that it is. Stop pretending that it isn’t.” Kyungsoo’s sharp expression didn’t falter.  
“Kyungsoo, stop thinking like this. Nobody is blaming you.”  
“Shut up.”  
“Kyungsoo-..”  
“Shut up! I don’t want to hear it!” Tears were sliding down his cheeks as he squinted and pushed Chanyeol away to hide himself in the sleeping bag and turn around again. But Chanyeol grabbed his wrist and pulled him up in a tight embrace. His arms tightening around Kyungsoo’s shaking body, burying him into his chest. Kyungsoo’s hands grabbed onto Chanyeol’s body, trying to push him away at first, but he didn’t give up. He didn’t let go of Kyungsoo at all. Holding him so tight that Kyungsoo didn’t have a choice but to give up.  
I don’t think I’ve ever seen these two having such intense anger between them before. They were always the closest, constantly teasing each other. The greatest, most massive fight between them was about a misunderstanding of a line from a Disney movie.  
Chanyeol didn’t let go for about five whole minutes before Kyungsoo fully gave in, which was when Chanyeol stood him up and pulled his sleeping bag, forcing him to be sleeping right next to his guarding spot. Holding onto Kyungsoo’s hand, he pulled him down, wrapping his arm around the other’s shoulder. I could hear a few more sniffles before it became quiet again. Seeing the two of them huddling together like this made me feel at ease. It made me feel hopeful. Without a doubt today was the worst day we had together. But tomorrow we have to continue moving on. Once we get to China, I could be of more help.

Somehow I managed to fall asleep just to be woken up by some quiet beeps coming from the corner of the room. Struggling to open my eyes, I winced towards Chanyeol who was fiddling with the camera. Ah… So it’s nothing. I should go back to sleep. Planning to close my eyes again, I suddenly heard the unforgettable audio of the moment that we all wished had never happened. It was just a mere second, but it’s something that I wouldn’t be able to get out of my head again. I recognized it right away. Another little beep was heard as I raised my head towards Chanyeol. He looked at me as if I caught him red handed. What did he do?  
Before I could open my mouth, he pushed the camera away from him and waved me to get back to sleep. Why would he want to watch that moment again? I rested my head back onto the pillow attached to my sleeping bag. I fell asleep again, feeling the guilt spreading at the back of my mind.

҉   _I told you I will be fine._

We were ready. Or at least we thought we were. There were a few infected, or at least that’s how Minseok called them, walking around us. Crossing a bridge means that it’s a narrow path, half blocked by cars. And there’s a high chance we will encounter some of them. These infected really are similar to the zombies from the movies. Who knew it would actually be this way.

Approaching the bridge, we walked in the formation we decided on back in the shed. Chanyeol and Minseok at the front, Kyungsoo and Junmyeon after them. Jongdae, Sehun, Jongin and me at the back. We were all tense. It was quiet, but not quiet enough to be safe. For a second it really felt like I was just watching a movie. Chanyeol brought us to a halt, looking down at a half mutilated body of a human with a bloody machete in their hand. Not a pleasant scene. Sehun covered his mouth with his hand and nearly gagged, but kept the camera steady on the gory view.  
The two at the front decided that Chanyeol would be more suited to carry the machete. I guess it’s because his arms are longer. The air stood still as we started walking onto the bridge between the empty cars. The sun reflected on the glass windows and got straight into our eyes, but we kept walking. We have to stay alert.

We crossed half of the bridge already with no encounters. I kept turning my head back to where we came from, to make sure nothing was following us. It was clear. I felt relieved. That was until I heard a groan coming from behind the car at the front. Everyone froze. I noticed that Chanyeol’s grip on the machete became tighter, and his arms were slightly shaking. The infected walked towards us and behind it appeared another one. Minseok exchanged a nervous glance with his partner at the head of our formation.

The infected got closer and closer to them, and Chanyeol’s attempts to scare them away all failed. They were so close right now. Too close.  
“Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo called out.  
He took a step back and I could see him wincing before swinging the machete right through the head of the infected in front of him, slicing the skull up until the middle of the head. I could feel Jongin’s hand tugging onto my sleeve, so I spread my arms as if to protect him and Sehun who were right next to me. Sehun stepped closer, the camera catching how the infected fell down on the ground with a thud and stopped moving. Upon this realization, Chanyeol turned his head to us and shouted “That’s it! We have to get their brain!” with a little bit too much enthusiasm.  
I saw Minseok face palming before stepping forward and stabbing the temple of the infected that walked to him. And indeed, Chanyeol’s discovery seemed to be the case.

The two at the front opened the path for us, while Kyungsoo and Junmyeon made sure that nothing else came out from the sides. It was scary. I can’t imagine how scared Jongin and Sehun were. They were clinging to me like children. I turned my head around and saw Jongdae walking behind us. He was scared as well, but holding his knife up, ready to attack anything that would decide to follow us.

It took us about an hour to cross through, so we decided to continue on the main road to find a safe place to rest. Eventually, we entered an abandoned bar. Everyone fell down exhausted. I could feel my knees shaking, I could feel everything shaking. I was pretty dizzy.  
Gently I stroked Jongin’s arm. It was safe now. He could let go of my sleeve. He looked at me slightly surprised and sighed, bumping his forehead into my shoulder. He didn’t need to say anything, I knew he was trying to thank me so I smiled and tilted my head at him, like I usually did when we were having better times.  
I decided to give my food portion of today to Minseok, he was the one clearing the path for us after all.

It’s been a bit over a week now. We managed to cross the second bridge over the Taeryong river without a struggle. Now that we knew what to do about the infected, we gradually became less and less tense about the increasing amount of encounters with them throughout our journey. I feel terrible. I don’t know what is wrong with my body. I zone out too much and I keep passing out, being a burden to the others. I know that I’m in a bad shape, but they still need the energy more than I do. Even if I could lift up the knife to fight, I probably wouldn’t be able to do it. Sehun has been helping me the most. He keeps asking me how I feel and keeps holding onto me, making sure I won’t fall. I feel so useless all the time, so I decided to teach Sehun about the edible plants we’re going to find in China.  
“Zhyukai?” Sehun asked me with anticipation.  
I couldn’t help but laugh. He’s been trying to say the name of this plant correctly for four hours now.  
“You’re so close!” I giggled at him. I could see his eyes focusing on my cheeks before his long finger poked my dimple. I laughed again, feeling his arm tightening around my waist.  
“So it’s Zhyukei.” He announced. I knew he was just trying to distract me from feeling the guilt of the burden I imposed on him. He carried me for so long now, but hasn’t said a word about it.  
“Duun duuun... Wrong.” I replied. In his own characteristic way, he shook his head in disbelief and called out to Junmyeon.  
“Hyung, he’s teasing me on purpose!” before pouting like a child.  
Jongin laughed out before smiling at me, satisfied from the situation.  
“I thought you studied Chinese for three years, Sehunnie.” He gave a snarky comment before smiling so wide that his eyes shaped into crescents.  
“Yah! Let’s hear you say it then!” Sehun protested childishly.  
“Zhuyecai.” Jongin said smugly, his eyes looking at Sehun to see his reaction.  
“Bam Bam Bam! Correct!” I exclaim happily and Sehun looks like he was told that Vivi chose Jongin to be his owner instead of him. Both Jongin and I can’t help but laugh again.  
But my laughter soon turned into coughs, and the coughs turned into my lungs raising a fit and failing on me. My throat felt really tight and I couldn’t hold myself standing. Throughout the painful dry coughs, I could feel another arm wrapping around me. Slightly opening my eyes, I realized it was Jongin. With a little bit of air I could consume I tried to tell them that I’m alright and that we should keep on going, but I couldn’t finish a single word before falling to my knees. I heard both Jongin and Sehun shouting towards the others, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying as my head started spinning. It didn’t take long before my head met the ground and everything turned black.

I heard people mumbling. Even though my head was pounding, I knew that it was people and not infected. That means everyone were still safe. Phew…  
I tried to open my eyes, blinking a few times until I could recognize the face in front of me. It was Kyungsoo. He had a piece of cold wet cloth in his hand and it felt nice when he placed it on my forehead. All I could do was crack a weak smile to let them know that I’m okay. Kyungsoo sighed and I saw Jongdae’s hand raising a water bottle towards my lips. One of the most refreshing sips of my life.

By the time I was fully awake again it was already dark outside. We were in some sort of room that was connected to another corridor. So they had to carry me through this… I couldn’t be more thankful to end up here in one piece. Everyone were discussing who would stay up to watch tonight. So to repay for the trouble that I caused, I took it upon myself. I couldn’t do anything useful today, and I probably slept for hours while I was passed out. After a little argument, they knew I wouldn’t give up. So with a big collective sigh from them all, they agreed to let me watch over them tonight.

They all sat down around me to eat. Jongin taking the can out of his bag and after his bite passing it around as usual. I think I was starving. I haven’t eaten in days, even though I pretended that I have. They all need the energy more than me anyway. As the can reached my hands, I looked to my right, Sehun was looking at the can eagerly. He must be even hungrier than I am. He carried me all day long. He’s still growing, so he needs a lot of food. I smiled and handed him the can.  
“You can take my bite.”  
“For real?” Sehun replied in surprise, I could see his eyes shining.  
“Yeah. I’m not that hungry. I’m feeling a lot better.” I mastered my best smile. Sehun glanced at me suspiciously but eventually his hunger overcame the hesitation.

Everyone settled into their sleeping bags. Jongin was lying right next to me. His eyes kept staring at me. I smiled at him with warmth and patted the cover of his sleeping bag.  
“Now now… It’s time to sleep.” I reminded him. He gave me a short nod and turned around in his bag. I looked around the room. Junmyeon and Minseok were talking to each other for a little while, before Minseok placed the map beside his sleeping bag and they both called it a night.

My head is aching so bad. I can feel the sweat running down the back of my neck, even though it’s not that hot. I’m dizzy and my sight is blurry. It isn’t anybody’s fault. I got myself into this situation. Maybe I should have been a little more selfish. I think I haven’t eaten more than a single bite this whole week. But I did the right thing. Because Minseok can fight really well, and Junmyeon is everybody’s leader. Jongdae takes care of everyone really well. Chanyeol matured up a lot and is helping Minseok to fight and plan. Kyungsoo is always watching and his intuition is always correct. Jongin is carrying the food for everyone. And Sehun… Sehun keeps us all together. They are all so good together. Like a proper team. Like an actual family. And I? I’m just holding them back. My actions had consequences. And I will continue being a burden. Ah… I was a fool. Tomorrow I will do better. Tomorrow I will eat and I will drink. And I will walk by myself.

I stood up carefully, as quiet as I could manage and stumbled towards Minseok. Cautiously grabbing the map and waddling back. I sat down against the wall again and unfolded it.  
Our plan for tomorrow is to continue west and get to Gwaksan. We’ve made so little progress during the week, because I kept holding everyone back. So tomorrow I will have to change it. Looking at the map for a little while, I finally noticed something that wasn’t there before. Have the others noticed it yet? I ran my finger gently on the little drawn face that is supposed to resemble Baekhyun’s puppy expression. So he drew this... I smiled to myself.  
I took the pen that was attached to the map and started scribbling the shape of the Goji berry that I taught Sehun about. I’m pretty sure he understood how it looks, but it’s always good to have a visual representation. I folded back the map and placed it next to me.

Looking around all my brothers’ faces looked so peaceful. Their breathing pattern was slow and steady. Everyone were huddled so close together, a lot closer than a week ago. Ah… How much I love them all. When I came to Korea at first I barely knew anything, but they helped me grow. They taught me, they grew up with me. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. I’m really thankful for all these years. I have to prove my sincerity. Tomorrow I will definitely push harder. I already knew that the fact that we are going to China means that people were looking out for us. My home country brothers. We will get there. Just wait a little longer.

Filled with emotions of gratitude and love I decided to thank my brothers personally. I turned to look at Jongin again. His back was towards me, but I could see that he was sleeping well. With a smile I leaned down and kissed his head. Then I rose up on my feet and went over to Sehun. Down to the floor, I kissed his head as well, pulling the fabric of his sleeping bag a little higher to make sure he’s not cold. My hands were shaking. Not because I was nervous. Actually… I don’t even know why.  
After Sehun, it was Junmyeon. Maybe not the oldest brother, but the rightful leader to us all. Thanks to his patience and acceptance, I was able to get close with the exo family. Then it was Jongdae - our helpful sunshine. When I was at your home, you accepted me, and when you were at my home, I hope I could make you feel just as welcome. Minseok-hyung, my older brother from another mother, your heart is as clean and pure as your habits. Kyungsoo, our little voice of sense, like a hardworking housewife, always tending to our needs. And Chanyeol, you grew so much in the past weeks. Thank you for getting us through this.

After kissing everyone’s heads and tucking them in, it was Chanyeol’s turn. But as I was about to kiss his head, he suddenly moved and I realized he was awake.  
“It’s okay…” I whispered. “You need to sleep. You worked hard today.”  
He looked up at me, silent for a while before nodding and resting his head back down. I smiled and gave him a kiss as well, realizing he stayed awake with me this whole time, to make sure I was alright. I felt a slight pain in my heart that one of us couldn’t receive my kiss. So once I got back to my spot, I opened the map again, and planted a soft kiss on his messily scribbled face. Ah… Now I kissed them all. Now I showed them that I love them.

I leaned my head against the wall and looked out of the window. The moon wasn’t even showing behind the clouds. When everyone wakes up, I will tell them that it’s going to rain tomorrow.  
Tomorrow I will definitely do better. I now understood that to be able to help others, I need to help myself. They were all right. I was just stubborn. I’m glad it’s not too late. I took in a big breath and closed my eyes before releasing the hot air out of my lungs. I felt so light all of a sudden. I felt at peace.

❀ _I will be selfish._

I could feel the night breeze wrapping around me. My body was no longer in pain. Mom, dad, exo… I love you. Don’t have any regrets.  
Goodbye.

⟴

_When we woke up, we saw Yixing actually fell asleep. That’s alright. He was very sick throughout the week and probably needed the rest. The way he was sleeping though… didn’t look very comfortable. When did he take my map?_   
_We all got ready as quiet as we could, not to wake him up. But we were sure that he would by now. He didn’t. Even when we called his name. He was just sitting there with a faded smile on his face. We tried to wake him up for a while. But when Junmyeon tapped his shoulder he said his body was very cold. We all knew what it means._   
_As if time just stopped, everyone exchanged gazes with each other. ‘No. This couldn’t be happening.’ That’s what we thought. Jongin was the first one to lose his temper. He grabbed onto Yixing’s lifeless shoulders and pulled him between his arms. I don’t know how to describe the pain in his expression. I guess now, thinking about it, it’s kind of creepy how we all just hugged his corpse and warmed it up with our tears._

_We knew that we didn’t have much longer. We already saw how people turn. How they become infected. There’s only one last thing we can do for him, but how does fate expect us to do this? The only way to stop people from turning is damaging the brain. Nobody can do it. Not me. Not us. Not anyone._   
_Jongdae started crying, which brought tears to my eyes as well. But it also brought us guests. Kyungsoo noticed a hoard gathering around our room because of the noise. Junmyeon tried to hurry us. We have to get out before we get stuck here. But who is going to do it? Who is going to do it for Yixing?_   
_All of us exchanged looks with each other. The situation was getting dangerous. The window near the only exit door broke. And I could see Yixing’s fingers starting to twitch._

_We left. We left the room and locked the door._   
_Will Yixing ever be able to forgive us? We were too scared. We were too selfish. We didn’t notice. We didn’t take watch you closely enough._   
_We had a lot of encounters with the infected on our way to Gwaksan. Yixing, was that you punishing us for what we’ve done to you? For what we’ve let you become? I hope you could somehow forgive us. We were cowards._

_We love you Yixing._

_We are sorry._


	4. Junmyeon & Sehun

We ran yet again, leaving another family member behind. We deemed  him to eternal suffering. And it will haunt us for the rest of our lives, every night. Just like the echoes of the previous victim. The loss is heavy. Yixing was a partner to me when I couldn’t be the one to voice the group. With the little knowledge I did have, I knew that the fact that you were supposed to be exo-m’s leader wasn’t for nothing. Your talents always put me in awe and I couldn’t have been more thankful to be the subject of your endless love. I think we all feel the same.  
That day the rain was so heavy, I was convinced that the whole world was crying with us.

We reached Gwaksan faster than anticipated and found a little rural area of houses that were under construction. Which means, easy entrance and easy exit. Safer than the previous mistake we’ve made. Even though two weeks have passed since it all started, I still couldn’t bring myself to actually fight against the infected that we’ve encountered. Even Jongdae and Kyungsoo already knew how they had to do it. I felt bad for not pushing myself further. But I knew it was more important to make sure that everyone are safe and together.  
After we put down our bags, Chanyeol grabbed Jongin and Sehun by the arms and pulled them back outside. He gave them both knives and started teaching the most useful defense techniques. They were both serious, but it felt like our life force was drained out of us. When it got dark and everyone gathered for the meal, I lit up another stick that I found on the way. We all sat in silence and looked at it. Jongdae was wiping his tears again and Minseok was holding his hand tightly. As hard as it is for me, I’m sure it’s even harder for them.

We spent a week on the roads on our way to Sinuiju. The more days passed, the thinner Kyungsoo’s usually plump cheeks became. Each member had their own duty and we became more practical and cool headed. Talking less and doing more. Technically, we’re doing really well, but the constant atmosphere is really grim.  
Walking at the front, I had the map in my hands. I kept staring at the little berry drawing that Yixing left for us and I realized he would definitely not want us to continue this way, neither would Baekhyun, whose little drawn face was right beneath Yixing’s sketch. I stopped walking and turned around towards everyone. Jongin and Sehun were walking in the middle of the group, Chanyeol and Jongdae at the end, and Minseok with Kyungsoo were right behind me. They sent me confused looks until I spread my arms, quietly staring into their eyes. We have to get over this. We cannot continue this way. None of us want it. They wouldn’t want it either. It is my duty to keep us a family, even if it means doing things I thought I’d never need to do.  
Minseok stepped closer, he understood what I meant and wrapped his arm around me. Sehun passed by Kyungsoo and did the same. Then it was Jongdae, Kyungsoo, Jongin and Chanyeol. We all stood there together in one tight hug. A hug we all needed.  
“Hyung, you’re so cheesy.” Sehun said quietly before Chanyeol and Jongdae started giggling. I smiled and closed my eyes.  
“So what?” I asked with a smile, not really expecting an answer. Minseok smiled and patted my back before freeing himself from the hug and stretching his arms.  
“Alright guys, let’s move on. And if you find any food give it to me, I’m starving.” He winked at us.  
“I’m more hungry than all of you.” Jongin said with a small pout. “If I see a chicken, I swear I’ll eat it like this.” He began acting as if he’s eating fried chicken wings.  
“Hey chicken mania, we already have a chicken.” Sehun smirked and glanced towards me.  
“What? Where?” Jongin turned his head around in surprise, obviously not getting the joke. I sighed and rubbed my head and as Jongdae walked past me, he began imitating an actual chicken, flapping his elbows to the sides and letting out a little ‘buk buk buk!’ Minseok laughed and we continued on. I guess it worked, even if yet again I was bullied by the youngsters.  
It feels like the mood was lifted up. I saw that Jongin was discussing slicing moves with Chanyeol, and Sehun’s arm was wrapped around Kyungsoo’s shoulder in front of me. I hope we will have many more good moments in these bad times.

After a few hours of walking, the weather began to get windy but the skies were clear. A piece of paper flew right in front of my face before getting stuck on Jongin’s arm. He was startled, but once he picked up the paper and looked at it, his eyes were shining.  
“Hyung! We have to go there!” He called out to me, turning the paper around and showing me that it was a flyer about an amusement park which is located exactly next to our goal for today. Sehun turned his head and let go of Kyungsoo’s shoulder. After seeing the flyers, his eyes became just as shiny.  
“Yeah, hyung! We must!” His expression was so happy and excited, like a little puppy. How am I supposed to say no? These two kids are going to be the death of me…  
Good thing Minseok was there to explain that we don’t have the time nor luxury to search for it. They were very disappointed. If it was up to me, I would have probably tried to find it. But the chances of such a place being safe are very very low.

A little while later Jongin became energetic again when he pointed out that he can see the top of a rollercoaster. Oh wow, so we’re actually going to go there. It’s right in our path. I knew it was most likely a bad idea, but at the same time it could also be a chance for everyone to wind down. Even Chanyeol began getting excited. I haven’t seen his child like side in a while.  
So here it is… Sinuiju’s amusement park. Everything was locked up, as expected. Minseok was already discussing the ways of climbing the fence and lifting himself up, but before he could even reach the top we all heard a metallic thud on the cement.  
“Nice!” Chanyeol praised himself as Minseok jumped back to the ground and laughed. After spreading the gates open and walking inside I could hear Jongin asking Chanyeol,  
“Really, how do you keep doing this? First it was my shower, now it’s this gate. What else can you unlock?”  
Chanyeol smirked before raising his hand up and sticking a peace sign right on his cheek with a wide closed eyed smile. “The way to your heart!”  
Jongin blinked a few times before smacking the back of Chanyeol’s head, which made Kyungsoo giggle from the back.

“Woah! This place is enormous!” Jongdae expressed before running forward to look at the huge board of the park’s map.  
“Careful! You can’t know who’s in here.” Minseok ran after him, holding his knife in a defensive position. Minseok is right. We cannot know if this park is empty. The gates were locked, but it doesn’t mean no one came inside. We should be careful and watch our steps.  
Everyone were alert as we started walking around. Everything seemed clear, but dusty. Chanyeol and Sehun were discussing what rides they are going to go on as we crossed paths with what seemed to be a motionless infected. We aren’t going to fall for this. We have to make sure he doesn’t get up. Minseok let out a little shout, and at the moment he noticed the infected’s fingers moving, he shoved the knife right between the eyes.  
“It could be dangerous.” I said. “Let’s stick together.”  
They all agreed as we walked through the park and reached the horse mounted carousel. Chanyeol stepped inside the little booth next to it, looking towards Sehun and Jongin.  
“There’s no way the electricity will turn on, right?” He asked, ready to be disappointed. But to everyone’s surprise when he pulled the lever down, everything started lighting up.

The carousel started making a lot of noise. All the spinning attractions began to move. Jongin and Sehun were pleased, but quickly after the electricity returned to the park, the infected which remained inside the park started approaching the loudest source of noise – the carousel we were standing right next to.  
“Be careful now!” Minseok called out. Everyone pulled out their knives except Jongin, who grabbed the bat that was attached to his bag, ready to swing it at anything that would come. In about ten minutes, they all cleared it out. I’m still not strong enough. I still can’t do it myself. I was disappointed by how useless I was and scolded myself in my head. But at least it’s safe now.

Jongdae asked Chanyeol for the camera and started filming us all as if it was a special trip vlog. He was good at those. He did it a few times before. Since I don’t enjoy going on crazy rides, I was the one to keep watch over the bags while everyone else were screaming on the spinning rollercoasters.  
The further we advanced into the park, the happier the mood became. We even found a few popcorn and cotton candy stands. But the best part was the hotdog stand. I was sure that buns and the meat would be rotting by now, but everything was still good to eat. It must be so unhealthy, filled with so many chemicals. But we were all so hungry. Kyungsoo cooked the sausages for us and I think it was the first time any of us ate properly since it all began.  
I wish Yixing and Baekhyun could have enjoyed it with us.

❀  _I couldn’t be selfish._

We dropped corn into the machine to pop and used the time to enjoy a luxurious shower in the park’s toilets. There was no soap, but even just washing all the dirt away with water felt good. Everyone were enjoying themselves, but all I could think about was Baekhyun’s off-tune singing that he always graced us with while he showered. It was refreshing and we felt a lot better afterwards. The popcorn was a nice addition to the treat.  
We all grouped up at a big wooden picnic table. It felt like a good time to recharge with a fancy drink. I suggested I’d go to the restaurant nearby and make some drinks for us all. Everyone placed their orders and Sehun volunteered to join.  
We entered the restaurant, the kitchen was left in top condition. Ah, we are so lucky today! Sehun was smiling and tilting his head from side to side while boiling the water, and I prepared the different drinks in the biggest mugs I could find. A few teas, coffee for Minseok, and hot chocolate for the three youngsters. I was looking at Sehun quietly. He definitely felt better after this fun day. With a soft smile I stepped closer and hugged around him. I could feel his hand stroking my arm.  
“Hyung, what is it?” he asked with a little worry.  
“Nothing. I’m-… just glad that you’re here with me.” Am I being too honest?  
“Thank you, hyung. I’m glad I’m here too.” He responded wittily and I could hear that he was smiling. What a brat. I love him so much.  
When I freed my arms from the hug I had around him, he turned to look at me and stroked the side of my head.  
“Thank you, hyung, really. “ I could feel my heartbeat raising slightly, so I turned back to the mugs quickly and smiled. Responding with a small “Yeah yeah…”

We placed all the drinks on the two trays and walked back to the rest. They were discussing the next move of our journey over the map. Sehun gave the drinks first and tried to come back to help me.  
“It’s okay Sehun, I got this.”  
“Let me do it.”  
“Really. I got this.” His hands were holding onto my tray. It became harder to keep it balanced.  
“Hyung, let me!” he pulled the tray a little bit too roughly, and his own mug with creamy hot chocolate fell on the table and splashed onto the corner of the map. Everyone were startled. Sehun’s expression looked like he couldn’t believe his eyes. I gave him a small scolding glance and placed the tray on the table.  
“Now you have to make it for yourself.” I said and helped the others dry out the chocolate from the table with the napkins. Sehun looked at me as if I just betrayed him. He rolled his eyes and walked back into the restaurant, tilting his head from side to side yet again.  
“Sorry about that.” I had to apologize for him. Jongdae waved his hand to gesture that it’s fine and the discussion continued.

We all finished our drinks, even Sehun, and prepared to head out of the park. Going back from the main entrance would be too dangerous because of all the noise that the amusement park’s attractions were making. So we decided to climb over the fence at the quiet area of the park. I think today we were really lucky, because right as we started walking, the main gates were busted open by the infected which were hoarding outside. We headed to the westest point of the park and started climbing over the fence. Kyungsoo passed first, then the Kim brothers, Chanyeol and Jongin. When it was Sehun’s turn to climb, I saw the infected were already getting dangerously close to us.  
With his body on both sides of the fence, he turned his head to me with fear.  
“Hyung!” he reached his arm down to me.  
I grabbed his hand tightly and started climbing up as fast as I could. My heart was beating really fast and the creepy noises the infected were making really gave me the shivers. I was joking earlier saying that these kids will be the death of me! Really!  
I felt my leg being grabbed and pulled on really hard. I looked down and saw the rotting faces of the infected opening their mouths like I’m some sort of food. Looking back up, I could see the panic in Sehun’s expression. He was terrified and so was I. It looked like pulling me up like this was hurting his arm.  
I smiled and started loosening my grip on his hand. It’s alright this way. It’s fine. They will be alright. I wasn’t much of a use anyway. I didn’t kill a single infected.  
“Sehunnie… It’s alright.” I said as calmly as I could.  
“You’re such an idiot!” he shouted at me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen his angry expression before.  
He let go of my hand and I fell back to the ground. The infected that were grabbing me, started pulling me away and before I could even take out my knife I heard another thud next to me. It was Sehun. He jumped back inside.  
I could see the terror in his eyes as he swiped his knife and stabbed the heads of all the infected he could reach. He did it quickly. The lessons with Chanyeol paid off. If we make it out alive, I should ask him to teach me too. Thanks to the bodies of the infected that piled up around us, Sehun gave us some time. He pulled me up and as I was climbing, he did as well. We got to the top of the fence together and jumped to the other side. We made it.

Everyone looked at us surprised. Sehun was leaning down and holding onto his own knees, huffing and puffing. Was he scared for me? Jongdae stepped closer to him and patted his back a few times. The two of us calmed down and we continued walking. We had to get away as fast as we can. This place was dangerous now, it was a great distraction. The noise from the amusement park would lure more and more infected to it instead of us.  
A while passed. Everything seemed to be okay. But all of a sudden I felt Sehun’s long arms wrapping around me from behind. I felt his forehead falling onto the back of my shoulder. When I touched his hand gently, I could feel how fast his heart was still beating. All of a sudden I felt terrible. How could I have done this to him? How could I have told him that it’s okay to let me go? If I really died there, Sehun would have suffered with the guilt for the rest of his life. I’m a horrible brother, horrible leader. It was a mistake Sehunnie, and I’m sorry.  
One hand was stroking Sehun’s arms around me and I raised my other hand to caress his head.  
“Idiot.” I could hear him mumbling.  
“I deserve it this time.” I whispered to him before turning my head and kissing his forehead. He released a long warm breath behind me. Finally he started to calm down. Oh… My Sehunnie… I’m so so sorry.

In our stop for tonight while preparing to sleep, I saw Minseok and Jongdae re-watching the footage from today. They were laughing and smiling, pointing at Kyungsoo from time to time. Kyungsoo didn’t notice it though, since he was busy sewing a button back onto Jongin’s shirt.  
“Alright. I’m finished.” He said before tapping Jongin’s chest.  
“Thanks.” Jongin replied and stood up, getting back to his own sleeping bag next to Minseok. Sehun and Chanyeol came back into our camp for tonight, and Sehun spread his sleeping bag right next to mine.  
“Hey, idiot, go to sleep.” At first I didn’t realize he was talking to me, but when I turned my head to him I just smiled and lied back down. He slid into his own sleeping bag and unzipped mine, pulling himself closer to me and like a koala wrapping around my body. I felt so warm and comfortable. Even if I tried, the smile on my lips wouldn’t fade away. I turned myself to face him, his eyes were already closed. Gently I started stroking the side of his head, removing the hair from his face with my fingers. Oh… My Sehunnie… Thank you so so much.  
Before falling asleep, I leaned my head closer to him and planted another kiss on his forehead. Right now was the happiest I’ve been in days.

The good mood from yesterday stuck with us when we woke up. We were recharged with energy and our supplies weren’t lacking anymore. Today we had to get to Ponbu-Dong, and from there cross the Yalu river to get to China. Our heads were high, and our bodies were in good condition after eating so much yesterday. Even if we all collectively felt bad about the fact that Yixing couldn’t cross this border with us. If only we had more time, we would have come back to him and saved him from the hell that we’ve allowed him to enter.

We took a little bit of a longer route when we got closer to Ponbu-Dong, because the city itself would most likely be crowded with the infected.  
We stood at the beginning of the Sino-Korean friendship bridge. It was so long, nearly a whole kilometer of possible dangers. Even though I decided that I would take lessons from Chanyeol about self-defense, we didn’t have time for it, so now I will have to manage on my own. We knew that it’s not going to be quiet, but judging from the amount of cars that seemed to have been standing in traffics while it was all happening, I think it’s going to be worse than we anticipated.  
We started crossing. Just like the previous formation, Minseok and Chanyeol were at the front, Kyungsoo and I behind them and Jongdae at the back. Sehun and Jongin were in the middle of the formation. We passed by closely parked cars in silence. I could see corpses rotting away inside some of them. It didn’t take long before we had company. A whole kilometer of company. Chanyeol and Minseok must be exhausted, yet again they were the ones to open the path for us. I stopped counting how many rotting infected have fallen beside them. Kyungsoo also left quite a trail of blood behind him. I don’t know how he did it, he looks so small compared to most of them. I noticed that on my side I was lacking. Infected were starting to follow behind us, and I couldn’t lift my arms to clear them out, unlike everyone else. Eventually, Sehun swapped spots with me. When he did it, it looked like it was so easy. So why can’t I do it? Why can’t I be the proper leader and protect my family?  
I don’t know how long it took us, but definitely more than a couple of hours. Everyone were exhausted, sweat dripping down from the sides of their heads. I hate myself so much right now, I couldn’t do anything, just walk between everyone like a coward.  
When we get to the other side and finally step in China, I would definitely ask Chanyeol. I cannot hold it off any longer. It’s something I should have done a long time ago. I think Sehun’s arm started to hurt, I saw him rolling his shoulder a lot. Was it because he tried to pull me back in the amusement park? My mind clouded with self-hatred again, but I quickly snapped out of it when I saw Chinese docks in front of us.  
“We’re nearly there.” I reassured my brothers. There was no reaction, I just stated the obvious. My hands began shaking from how angry I was at my own helplessness. They deserve so much better than me. I cannot fulfill my role properly.

We made it. We stepped onto the wooden docks in the country of China. We’re closer to our goal. If we will continue to be this lucky, we could make it to Dalian in a month.  
After finally reaching the ground, we snuck behind some abandoned fishing lodges and got to another car filled road. It was pretty quiet so we stopped for a short break. Chanyeol, Jongdae and Kyungsoo sat down on the pavement, drinking almost a whole bottle of water each.  
Sehun came and leaned his head on my shoulder. I gently ruffled his sweaty hair.  
“You did well, Sehunnie.”  
“I know.” He replied and I knew that he felt relieved. We all did. Jongin attached his bat back to his bag and leaned backwards onto one of the cars.

We all froze at the sound of the alarm coming from the car he just touched. Oh no… Jongin turned his face to me with shock and regret in his eyes. In less than five seconds everyone were up on their feet. We started walking again, more like jogging. It began as a jog, but we ended up running to hide away from the gathering hoard behind us, inside a storage lodge filled with fishing equipment. It felt like a maze. To reach the other side of this lodge, we had to cross through the narrow cracks between the various towering shelves. And if this wasn’t enough, this lodge was separated into rooms with only a narrow hallway connecting them.

I was the first one to get to the door. I opened it and pushed everyone through. Jongin tried to push me ahead but with the growing sound of the infected getting to us I shoved him and Sehun first. Something grabbed onto me. As I turned my head I realized the infected were filling the room up to no space. Sehun grabbed my arm again and pulled as hard as possible. I could see that it caused him pain. It’s my fault that his arm was hurting to begin with. I held onto his arm and tried to kick off whatever was holding onto me, I struggled with all my might but their dirty nails started digging into my skin. Come on! One last push!  
“Gahh!” I couldn’t hold my voice when I felt a hard chomp on the side of my leg.  
“Hyung! Hurry up!” Sehun tried to rush me.  
The teeth that tore into my skin started ripping the flesh apart. What a gruesome sight. I turned to look back at Sehun, releasing my arm from his hold. I pushed the metal door in front of me and closed it between us. Sehun looked at me through the glass window of the door as if he just saw a ghost.  
I smiled. “It’s okay.” I said. I don’t think he could hear me, but he understood what it means. His eyes opened wide and I could see that he was trying to call to me, but I couldn’t hear his shouts through the loud growls of the infected that were clawing into my body. I just looked at him. He was banging so hard on the metal door. Chanyeol and Jongin were trying to pull him back, but our eyes were locked and I knew that this would be the last time he would see my face. So with all the pain I touched the glass with my forehead and closed my eyes. I smiled again.  
At the moment like this, all I could think is that if I was to be reborn, I would do it all over again. Without a doubt I would do it all over again. And I would do it better.  
“Live well…” I mouthed before another infected bit into the back of my neck and I fell down.

≂   _Live your life to the fullest._

“HYUNG! HYUNG! HYUNG!” I kept screaming. Why is he smiling? Why is he looking at me like this? I can’t-… I just can’t lose him. I’m nothing without him. He gave me my life. He gave me everything that I can say I am proud of. It should have been me there in his place. A family must have a leader. I must have a leader. I must have Junmyeon.  
The rush of panic through my body erased my ability to feel the pain from banging on the metal door. My throat was hurting. I refuse to believe that things would go on without him. His sweaty forehead touched the glass and I placed my hand on it, watching his expression before I saw an infected pushing him down to the ground and out of sight.  
I slammed my fists onto the door, letting my head fall on it as well. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. If he isn’t here, I have nothing left.  
Tears burst out of my eyes in a flow I couldn’t control. Jongin and Chanyeol tried to pull me back. But I’m not going anywhere. Without him I have nowhere else to go. They called my name and shouted at me. If they are in such a hurry they can just go. I could barely hear their voices through the pounding of my head and the high pitched ringing noise that muted everything in my ears. Their pulls became annoying.  
I turned to them. I think my face was really bad because their expressions were surprised. It doesn’t matter anyway. I shoved the both of them away through the other door in the hallway and shut it tight, moving a step back I started kicking the handle, bending it over so it wouldn’t open ever again. This is it. This is my decision. This is my life. And if Junmyeon isn’t in my life-… then I don’t need a life at all. I turned back to the previous door. I think Jongin was crying really hard and slamming on the door behind me because his voice calling my name echoed even through the metal doors.

I was slightly thankful to the loud ringing noise in my ears, because that way I couldn’t hear the infected gnawing into Junmyeon’s body. I pushed the door open with all my force. This is it. This is my decision. Without any hesitation I walked to my beloved brother. My beloved Junmyeon. Pushing the infected away and going down on my knees. I pulled his damaged body into my arms, holding his heart to mine.

≃   _My life was full only with you._

“Sehunnie… Let’s love.” I mumbled with a raspy voice. I couldn’t feel anything other than his hot quick breaths on my neck. It’s okay Sehunnie… I am so so sorry, and thank you so so much.

“That’s right. Let’s love… hyung.” I whispered through the tears, my eyes shut tight. I felt the infected digging into my skin. It doesn’t matter. Even if it hurts more than hell, it doesn’t matter. Hyung… You were my beginning and my end.

Mom, dad, exo, Sehun… I love you.  
Mom, dad, exo, Junmyeon… I love you.

Goodbye.

⟴

_It took all we had to pull Jongin away. He was hysterical. Kept swinging his limbs everywhere and sobbing uncontrollably. Only when Jongdae pulled his head into a tight embrace was when he finally stopped resisting. He stood so shamefully. His head hidden in Jongdae’s chest. Jongin kept weeping for ten minutes straight. All of us kept crying but the heaviest toll was on Jongin. I knew that he thought that this was his fault for starting the car’s alarm._   
_He cried so much until he passed out. Not because he was unhealthy, but because it was all just too much. I was thankful to Jongdae for not letting go of him even for a second._

_It didn’t take long for Jongin to wake back up. I think he had a nightmare even when he was passed out because he was covered in cold sweat. I gently stroked his head and then we continued a little further west._

_We stopped at the first village we got to. Jongdae kept a close eye on Jongin the entire time. This time I was the one to pick the stick to represent the incense. We lit it up once we found a place to settle in. I spread Jongin’s sleeping bag between Jongdae’s and mine that night. He slept with both of us by his sides and it took him hours to fall asleep._   
_Next to the three of us, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo stuck close together as well._

_We lost the front and the back of our family pack. Junmyeon was like a big brother to us all. Even to me. And Sehun supported us all like glue. We should have been more cautious, we could have prepared better for situations of this sort. You never let us down, Junmyeon. You never failed us, Sehun._   
_Are you two together up there? Will you continue guiding us and keeping us together through the stars? I hope you won’t abandon us leader, maknae._

_We love you Junmyeon._   
_We love you Sehun._

_We are sorry._


	5. Jongin

I woke up to a strange smell. I sat up slowly, my eyes were swollen.  
“Ah. You’re awake.”  
“Morning sleepyhead.” Kyungsoo and Jongdae greeted me.  
When I turned my head to them, I could see that they were cooking something above a small fireplace.  
“I found it a while ago.” Jongdae explained. “I knew it would come in handy at some point.”  
What the hell is he even talking about?.. I raised my hand to rub my eyes.  
Minseok and Chanyeol entered the room and I could hear them saying that we need to get going. Jongdae seemed to be unhappy about it. He took the can from above the fire and brought it to me.  
“It’s chicken soup! When I saw it, I knew I had to get it for you.” He smiled at me but I could tell that it was really hard for him.  
I took two little sips and placed the can down, nodding at Jongdae to thank him. I can’t even think about food right now. I can’t really think about anything.  
Chanyeol was quick to sit down next to me and grab the can. In the end, the four of them shared it until the very last drop.

Next thing I know, we were walking under the scorching sun on the main road towards a little town. The weather is really getting worse. It’s a lot hotter than it was two weeks ago. My feet are dragging against the pavement while the others are walking around me as if ready to protect me from anything that would come. Why do they even bother?  
After about an hour we got to a little town called Hailongcun. It was so small that we could already see where it ends. There was a school located right near the main road. As we got closer to it, I could hear Kyungsoo asking Minseok to change the path, so we wouldn’t have to pass next to it. It would be a waste of time to go around. We saw a lot of hand written signs that were pointing to the school’s direction. Did everyone go there to stay safe together?

Chanyeol, who walked ahead of me, started slowing down. The school was on our left. We could see the sports field through the fence. It looked vacant and everyone’s faces seemed to be relieved. I wonder if children became infected too…  
Across the school was a little convenience store and they decided that we would enter in search for supplies. This whole town was surprisingly empty. All the supplies were missing as well. There was nothing on the shelves. I wonder if the residents were told to evacuate to some place safe.  
We searched everywhere, not even a little plastic bag was left, so I started walking outside to get back on the road. But once I opened the door I could feel something launching onto me. It wasn’t big enough to knock me down - in fact it felt very little. I looked down and froze on spot.

Looking back at me was a deformed face of a child. I felt the blood curdling in my veins before I let out a scream and jumped backwards, falling on the floor.  
The first one to arrive was Chanyeol. Without a second of hesitation he swung his arms and bashed the child’s head with a bat. The blood and pieces splattered everywhere. I winced as a spray of black goo mixed with blood flew right at my face.  
My ears were replaying the sound of crushing bones. I couldn’t breathe. My heart was beating so fast. And even though I could see Chanyeol leaning down to ask me if I was okay, I couldn’t hear his words.  
Jongdae arrived next and started tapping my shoulder, taking out a cloth and wiping my face.  
I could see the school’s fence in front of the store. More and more infected children started to swarm up against it, their thin short arms sticking through the holes of the fence in an attempt to reach us. Jongdae’s arm held me around the waist and pulled me back up to my feet.  
“Jongin we have to go!” Kyungsoo shouted while grabbing my arm and pulling me back on the main road.

We got out of that town as fast as we could, but I couldn’t utter a sound. The image of the child’s infected face and the view of Chanyeol’s bat smashing into it didn’t leave my head.  
We continued west and reached Xiqianyang. I couldn’t do anything all day. It was already quite late into the night when we arrived and I knew that it would’ve been unfair if after a whole day of slacking I would get to rest more than the others.  
I refused to eat again. And no matter how much Minseok tried to convince me that he would be on watch tonight, with the little words that I was able to mutter I got the job of watching over them. Maybe it would be a good idea to calm myself down during the quiet night.

But I couldn’t calm down, and it wasn’t a quiet night at all. I could hear infected walking around all night, growling and groaning. It was so scary and disgusting. The sounds were so loud but everyone seemed to be able to sleep just fine. Can they not hear all of this? If I’m the only one hearing those, then it’s a good thing I’m on watch. Would I really be able to do the same as Chanyeol? Would I be able to protect them if these noisy infected came over?

Usually when I’m alone there’s music playing in my head and I dance along, at least with my hands, to pass the time. But right now no matter how loud I would try to play the music in my head the unbearable echoes of the infected would have surpassed it. What else can I do to calm down?  
Looking out through the window I started thinking about Soojung. (Krystal f(x)) I miss her. Even though with our recent activities we couldn’t spend a lot of time together, I still miss our little conversations into the night. I miss our unexpected encounters in the office building. I miss the times where she came to visit me at home and we walked Jjang-ah, Mong-gu and Jjang-gu together on the leashes. I miss the way she smiled, like she’s trying to hide her teeth, but I also miss the way she truly smiled. So wide that her eyes shaped like crescents.  
I also miss my family, my sisters and my parents. But these sounds are getting louder and louder, and if they’re coming closer to us, I have to make sure that everyone is ready.

I looked down at my sleeping brothers. How can they not wake up from this? I have to go check if there’s something dangerous close to us.  
After a moment of debate, I grabbed the little knife out of my bag and went outside. But-.. there is nothing here? So what is making this noise? There has to be something. It keeps getting louder.  
I started wandering around carefully. Even though during the day it was hot, I was glad that the skies were clear and the light from the moon was enough for me to see ahead.  
The further away I stepped from the house, the louder the noise became. That means I’m getting closer to the source, right? I can definitely do this! I have to show them that I’m capable of more than just shrieking at the sight of the infected.  
My back was against a wall as I snuck to a backyard of one of the houses. The noise is definitely coming from there. If I stop that infected I’m sure I will prove myself that I can do this.  
I jumped from behind the wall and swung my knife upwards, but I felt a sharp pain on the outside of my thigh. The infected was ready for me! He was prepared! I have to get away! I dropped the knife to the ground and started running. The next thing I know, I’m in a thick forest surrounded by even more infected. They’re so loud that my ears are ringing. My leg hurt and I tried to press on the wound as much as I could.  
They’re going to get me! They’re going to get me!!

I don’t know how long had passed but I could hear the birds chirping from the treetops. I was thirsty and tired. I should have never left that room. Now I will make everyone waste their time. The infected were surrounding me all night, I could hear them. It got quieter when the morning came, but now they’re back. They’re louder, they’re shouting and I can hear their steps coming closer and closer to me. I’m so stupid, why did I drop the knife?  
I grabbed a big rock which was lying next to me. It’s not the same as Chanyeol’s bat, but if I hit hard enough it could fracture their skull and damage the brain, right? My heart was beating so fast and my breath was shaking. They’re so close! I can hear them coming right here! If bashing their head with the rock wouldn’t work then I could try to push them off the cliff.

I took a big breath and jumped at them. I tried to swing my rock at the head of the taller infected, but it’s a smart one. It pushed me away. They kept growling loudly at me and getting closer! I ran back to them and tried to kick them off the cliff, but that infected pushed me back yet again. Is it because my leg is weak now because of its injury?  
They kept reaching their arms out to me. I’m sure they wanted to grab and take a bite off of me. Now these two infected are surrounding me right next to the edge of the cliff. Even if I would try to run past them, I wouldn’t make it very far because of the injury.  
The growling and hissing in my ears were so loud and it felt like my head was going to explode. I tried to scream out at the infected, maybe scare them away, but they kept getting closer and closer to me. I turned my head and looked back at the edge of the cliff. I was standing a step away from it. The noises these infected were making got even louder and more painful in my ears.

I have only two choices. Do I die being eaten alive, or do I jump down and hopefully end it painlessly? I don’t want to die.

Their faces are disgusting, so deformed and rotten, and their bodies are quirked in an unnatural way. It was so loud, too loud. I closed my eyes and covered my ears.  
“I can’t do this anymore!” I could feel warm tears streaming down my face. I don’t want to die! When I opened my eyes again the long arm of the infected was a centimeter away from grabbing me. This is it.

≂ _You had a full life ahead of you._  
≃ _You had a full life ahead of you._

I jerked my arm away and stepped backwards. I gave up. This was all too much. I miss Baekhyun. I miss Yixing. I miss Junmyeon. I miss Sehun.  
I centered the weight of my body backwards. This is it. I’m ending this. The infected’s arm was a second short from grabbing onto my falling body.

Mom, dad, Soojung, exo… I love you.

Goodbye.

As I was falling down, the horrible growls silenced, and in their stead I heard a familiar voice.

⊹ _I was blinded by fear._

I looked upwards to the edge of the cliff I just chose to fall from. It wasn’t an infected.  
“Chanyeol?”

⟴

_By the time we got to the source of the shouts, all Jongdae and I saw was Kyungsoo kneeled down and wrapped around Chanyeol’s waist from behind, as if holding him back from falling down the edge of the cliff they were at. Jongdae and I turned to look at each other. Both of us thought the same. This cannot be good. And we were right._

_We got closer and heard Chanyeol sobbing loudly. Kyungsoo turned his head to us, tears streaming down his face. He shook his head lightly and we both knew what it meant. Jongdae ran to them immediately, pulling them both further away from the edge of the cliff before falling backwards on the ground and covering his face with his hands. I went closer to check what exactly happened. I wish I didn’t. Poor Jongin…  
It took us all a long while to calm down. And even though Jongdae’s tears kept pouring down, he was fairly relaxed. _

_Kyungsoo explained to us that he thinks the reason Jongin did this was because he was hallucinating. He was sure Chanyeol and him were actually infected. So Jongin was the one who injured himself with the bloody knife that we found before.  
I shouldn’t have let him have the night watch. I should have forced him to sleep. _

_We passed the mountains and made a little camp near the Shaba river. Tomorrow our goal would be to get to Yiquanzhen._

_Even though you were younger, you were like a role model to me. You gave me inspiration and the drive to work harder towards my goals. You were a precious brother to me, and I’m sorry that I’ve made the wrong decision that cost you your life._

_We love you Jongin._

_We are sorry._


End file.
